Locals gather for chance at free Mickey D’s for a year

High school kids were gathered around the recently reopened McDonald’s in their attempt to secure a free value meal once a week for the next year.

As the clock rolled over from 11:59 p.m. Thursday to 12 a.m. Friday, those gathered around the “new” Monticello McDonald’s didn’t seem to notice. After all, the changing of days certainly wasn’t going to phase the seventy some people who still had four hours to go. They had their eyes on the prize, as they were all lined up for the chance to win a free value meal (once a week) for a year.
So instead, chatter kept going strong and few showed signs of sleep as night continued to chug its way toward day.
Zach Meierhofer, a now senior at Monticello High School, was among those waiting for the official opening of the new fast food restaurant, so he could be one of the first one hundred to order a value meal and secure the free value meal for a year prize.
“We heard about free food for a year, and decided it was an opportunity we couldn’t pass up,” said Meierhofer.
So, he collected a group of friends, and to McDonald’s they headed. Four of them got to McDonald’s at 8:30 p.m. and were the second group there. By midnight the group was still sitting around on blankets and sleeping bags, chatting, and playing on an iPad, with numerous other options by their side.
“We got some board games going,” added Meierhofer. “We have Life, we have card games. Everyone is just kind of joking around.”
Indeed, that seemed to be the theme of the night. The parking lot was alive with chatter as McDonald’s provided a gathering ground for some of the city’s most dedicated fans, many of whom were high school students.
And it’s just as likely that by late Friday morning, there were approximately one hundred beds scattered around town that were filled with perfectly hungry stomachs and fast at sleep people.